Hit Me
by L122yTorch
Summary: Harvey feels betrayed by Mike after all of the merger drama and has passively aggressively taken out his anger by drowning his associate in heated glares and mounds of paperwork. Mike wants things back on track and dares Harvey to hit him to get his frustrations out and over with. Turns M and Slash past Ch. 2.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a stifling two and a half months since the merger. Harvey was still furious at Mike, his anger ruminating under the cool visage he usually possessed. The first month after the merger he gave Mike to Louis and instructed him that Mike was at his disposal. Drowning in work from both Harvey and Louis was unbearable.

Once the month was up, Harvey had his dog back, but cut him no slack as he slammed him with assignments. When they were in the same room there was an undercurrent of unspoken distrust. The witty banter that was usually peppered throughout the day disappeared. They never grabbed lunch or rode in the town car together. Harvey wasn't just giving Mike the cold shoulder; it was downright arctic in the space between the two.

Mike looked sad, worn out, dragged down. It also didn't help that Rachel immediately regretted their tryst in the file room. She realized that she didn't really trust Mike for the time being, so they kept their distance.

Donna noticed the deep circles under Mike's eyes, the lack of spark behind his blue irises, the resignation with which he set about doing his tasks. He seemed beaten.

The dynamic between Mike and Harvey had all but disappeared and the kid was finding each new day more unbearable than the one before it. His mentor had been particularly cold to him today, not even bothering to see him face to face, but sending a message through Donna. He'd had enough.

The skin beneath his collar burned as he watched the older man in his Tom Ford suit click the elevator button. The metal doors slid open and Harvey stepped inside. It was about 10:45 p.m. and Mike still had a whole mountain of research to do for tomorrow. But he grabbed his messenger bag and headed to the lobby.

The cold night air was a stark contrast to his buzzing body, radiating heat at the thought of what he was about to do. His heartbeat thrummed in his ears as he rode his bike towards the sleek high-rise that Harvey called home. His pulse only quickened as the elevator neared the top floor. Finally the doors glided open and Mike made his way to the end of the hall.

After taking a deep breath Mike rapped on the pale wood door. Harvey opened the door looking tired, irked and un-amused. He seriously considered just shutting the door in Mike's face. "We need to talk."

He entered the lavish apartment and heard the door click shut behind him. "About what." "About you and I." "Please spare me," Harvey replied, turning around to step further into the living room. "No…this is bullshit," with that Harvey snapped around. "Excuse me?"

"I know you feel like I betrayed you Harvey but…Jessica had me in a corner. She threatened to send me to PRISON! She had the documents ready to go, she was ready to turn me in…" he said stepping closer to Harvey. "So…" Harvey said with nonchalance.

"So? So what would you have had me do? What good can I be to you behind bars? What should I have done?" "You should have come to me Mike, you should have told me!" "She made me swear not to tell you or she'd turn me in." Silence. Harvey stood in his absurdly stylish apartment and crossed his arms, creasing the navy blue Henley shirt that hung around his body.

"Did you ever stop to think about me?" Mike blurted out, his voice cracking. "When we were in the bathroom…you didn't give me a chance to explain. You didn't look into what had happened…you just tore me down…as if I didn't already feel bad enough."

"Oh boo hoo," Harvey sneered, his blood on fire with anger. They were standing so close to one another that Mike couldn't breathe. "You fired me…you let me go as if I've never meant anything to you at all." Charged silence filled the room, Harvey could feel the waves of anger and hurt rolling off Mike's words, radiating from his body.

'I'm so damn tired of you taking your frustrations out on me at work…if you're mad at me…hit me," Mike dared. "Maybe then you'll stop acting like such a girl. HIT ME. Go ahead, get it all out now Harvey so that I can work in peace!" "You want me to hit you," Harvey growled, his lips pulling up at his teeth as he spoke the words. "YES, get it out of your system," Mike roared.

In an instant Harvey's right hand had turned into a fist and his arm was recoiling. A bright wave of red came crashing over the vision in Mike's left eye; he barely had time to close his eyes before the blow. Embarrassingly, Mike flew backwards and stumbled over his crashing feet. He whacked his lip and head on a stupidly placed table against the wall that separated Harvey's foyer and living room.

Mike was on the floor, his head spinning, ears ringing, lip stinging. His hand immediately came up to his face to prevent the blood spilling out of his head and lip from touching the hallowed wooden floors of Harvey's home. Mike rose to his feet, a deep blush engulfing his features at the realization that he had ended up on the floor because of just one punch.

Once upright, he dared glance at Harvey's brown eyes. He saw a moment of realization flash across his features, but it was gone just as soon as it arrived. They didn't say a word. Mike just walked towards the door and let himself out.


	2. Chapter 2

Mike's face was pounding in pain; he could barely sleep once he returned to his apartment. He woke up uncharacteristically early and assessed the damage to his face in the mirror.

Deep purple crept up around his left eye socket, his eyelid felt heavier than usual. There was a single red gash above his black eye where he had hit the table. Whenever he moved his lips, the wound on his bottom lip ached in protest. He hung his head and wondered how others would react to his battered face. He decided to head into work early since he was already up.

The lobby was mainly empty, which is why Mike was so surprised to run into Louis upon stepping off the elevator. There was an awkward moment of silence between them as Louis eyes surveyed the damage to Mike's face. "Come on…" he said, pulling Mike into the restroom.

"What the hell Mike?" Louis said leaning up against the sinks. "I know…" Mike whispered. Louis frowned, exited, and returned with the familiar First Aid kit. Louis' hands took out the necessary items and he began to work on Mike's face. "Who did this to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." "Not surprised. Twice I've seen you step off that elevator beaten up and twice I've fixed you up. And you still don't trust me enough to tell me what the hell is going on," Louis sounded hurt and disappointed. "It's not that I don't trust you Louis," the senior partner looked at him incredulously. "Seriously Louis, it's not that I don't trust you…I just…I deserved it."

"Was it the same person from the first time?" "No." "Wha?" Louis hmmphed, a sad look on his face from the lack of information. "Is it someone I know?" The question caught Mike off guard and his face and silence gave it away.

Harvey's heart raced.

Louis' eyes went wide. "It's good that you don't tell me then, because I'd kick the shit out of him. I would also like to kick the shit out of whoever pounded into your head that you _deserve_ to beat up. I don't care what you did Mike, no one deserves to be physically hurt."

"I was asking for it," Mike's voice split. Louis shook his head and touched concealer to the bluish purple bruises, Mike yelped in pain. "Sorry," Louis muttered.

"Mike…I know you don't get enough praise or encouragement. I know that sometimes you feel like you don't deserve to be here or be rewarded for what you do here," Mike stared at Louis, his mouth parted. "But I'm here to tell you that you do deserve it, that you are good enough, and that if I find you beat up one more time, I'll destroy whoever hurt you," and with that Louis snapped the white case shut and Mike hopped down off the sink.

When Harvey was sure the door had closed and both men had left, he came out of the stall. Some dumb associate ran into him with coffee and stained his shirt; he came into the bathroom to change and stood dead still listening to Mike and Louis.

His stomach turned, his mind reeled. He knew something was seriously wrong when he felt the urge to fly to Mike and apologize. He wanted to hold his face, smooth his fingers along the cuts and bruises, and clear away the hurt he had seen in his eyes the night before.


	3. Chapter 3

Harvey kept Mike securely buried under enough work for the rest of the day. Every time his thoughts strayed from the work on his desk he contemplated makeshift ways to make things right with his associate.

Morning slipped into lunchtime and Harvey's stomach growled menacingly beneath his three-piece suit. He grabbed a quick lunch and spent the entire afternoon in court. It was a boring case for him, but it provided the perfect opportunity to avoid Mike while he devised a game plan.

"Where's Harvey?" Mike asked with a concerned look on his face. Donna shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "He's at court…for the Donaldson case." Mike's face fell. "I thought the court date was next week?" "It got moved up." "Why didn't he take me?" "Because, he's got it handled and you've got a lot of work to do here."

Mike let a sigh slipped, he wasn't buying it, and Donna knew it. "What is going on Mike?" Another sigh… "I would dive into it, but I've got a lot of work to do here." Mike quipped and turned to leave.

….

The day seemed to drag on forever but eventually the sun dipped beneath the skyscrapers rising in the distance. It was a miracle that Mike plowed through the giant shit storm of motions and research, but he did it.

He would pop some Advil every four hours throughout the day. And as the throbbing in his face escalated he looked up at the clock and realized he hadn't taken any since 2. He looked at the clock, 10 p.m., and suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired and sore.

It was Friday night and way too late to still be in the office. Just when Mike thought everyone had left the building, Donna appeared in front of Mike's cubicle. "Harvey's here, he wants to see you," she said with a weak smile and then left.

His heart instantly jumped to his throat and every vein in his head pounded with a mixture of dread and excitement. He grabbed his messenger bag and made his way down the hall. Donna was stepping into the elevator to the lobby and the lone light shining out of the glass prism of Harvey's office was beckoning him closer.

Harvey was standing in front of a wall of windows, looking down on NYC. He didn't turn when Mike entered the room. His stomach did a somersault. Harvey's perfectly tailored suit hugged his body, his hands were in his pockets, his reflection glaring back at his deep blue eyes.

Harvey cleared his throat, his head was down, he turned towards the blonde and walked up to him. "Listen close, because I'm only going to say this once kid…" he took a deep breath and looked up at Mike, "I'm sorry."

"Man, where's Louis' Dictaphone when I need it?" Mike chuckled. Harvey smiled, relieved. "I never should have taken you up on your offer…it was incredibly unprofessional." Mike smiled.

"Why are you smiling?" "Because I love that I can make you act unprofessional." Harvey glared at him, threatening to pull him apart just with his gaze. He stepped closer. "You enjoy pissing me off?"

"No," Mike blurted sincerely. "I just…sometimes it's nice…to see that you're human." Harvey's expression shifted, it got softer. "Don't tell anyone else that I'm human." "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." They both smiled.

Harvey was standing close. He was standing too close and he reached a hand out tentatively to Mike's face. "Does it hurt?"

Mike was caught off guard as a thumb reach out and swiped the concealer off to reveal a deep bluish purple ring around his eye. Mike's lips were parted, his eyes wide in disbelieve how Harvey's eyes followed the lines of his face.

Was Harvey aware that Mike was studying his face as well? His perfectly combed hair, a slight expression of remorse pooling in his deep brown eyes, the dip of skin above his slightly pink lips.

Harvey suddenly realized that he was being scrutinized, icy blue eyes leaving trails of fire on the curves of his face. Mike wasn't sure when Harvey realized it but he felt compelled to draw nearer to his mentor. "Mike…" Harvey's voice sounded unsure, maybe even shaken, but it was just a hollow echo in the distance that Mike couldn't make out.

He just came closer and closer until he could feel Harvey's breath warm on his lips. He left his eyes open for the first second his lips met Harvey's. The brunette was unmoving, his lips still under the shock of the situation. Mike's eyes had snapped shut, his hands weaving under the lapels of his jacket, his body emanated a stifling heat, his lips kept moving but Harvey was frozen.

As Mike broke off the one-sided kiss, he pushed down the urge to immediately panic, to pour out apologies and run to the nearest bathroom and die. Instead, he quieted the cacophony of alarms in his head and simply said "wow…for all the hype I've heard, I expected you to be a much better kisser. I guess it's not surprising. I mean…you can't be great at everything."

He watched as realization washed over Harvey's face. His jaw was clenched, his posture more relaxed, a hand reappeared and fingers wrapped around Mike's chin as his thumb brushed over the cut on Mike's lip.

Harvey drew nearer, with an expression on his face like he was about to devour Mike. "I am great at everything," he said before tilting his head and moving his lips against Mike's. This time he was making the moves, pushing Mike's mouth open, slipping his tongue into the warmth he found there.

Mike was so eager, so desperate, not sloppy, but rushed. His teeth pulled at Harvey's bottom lip, his hands roamed the soft fabric of his expensive shirt and the back of his neck, fingers dragging down soft brown hair to his neck, sending goose bumps spiraling down his shoulders and back.

The senior partner's mind raced, he felt his inhibitions being pulled under the tide of Mike's persistence, his logic was drowning.


End file.
